Awaken
by scarletsailor
Summary: Wally had a lot of things to think about. Luckily, the halls of the Cave were quiet enough to hold his deep thoughts. Wally/Artemis. Based after the events of 'Failsafe'. Read 'Nightmare' for the sequel.


Awaken

Wally wandered through the halls of the Cave, hands in pockets and eyes staring blankly at the floor. He and the rest of the team were still recovering from the 'training exercise'. They had lost everyone. Everyone had gone down, one way or another. Wally and Robin were blown up, Superboy and Aqualad were shot down, and M'gann was shocked by her own uncle. Then there was Artemis…

The thought of her actually dying scared Wally. He shivered at the thought. The sight of Artemis being vaporized before his eyes would stick in his nightmares. He knew that much.

Wally cared about all of his teammates. He knew that he argued and fought with Artemis in the beginning, but it seemed as though he grew out of it. The two eventually stopped their constant bickering and made things work well enough between them. Wally grew to care for her, like he knew he must. Artemis was on his team and he had to help his team.

The simulation had felt so real. What could they have been thinking, setting them up on a test that was designed to make them fail? That angered Wally to an extent he had never felt before. He knew why that was, though.  
>Every thought about the test eventually led back to Artemis. She had died. It wasn't real. Wally knew that, but it still would haunt him. He felt like he should've been able done something. He was supposed to be the fastest boy alive. So, how come he couldn't have saved Artemis?<p>

The air inside the cave felt impossibly colder. Wally cracked his neck as he walked and clenched his fists that then hung at his side. He replayed the simulation in his mind and examined each thing that went wrong. No matter how hard they tried, things were designed to just get worse. They were literally set up for failure. Wally kicked the wall out of anger. He kept walking, his breaths harsher and deeper. The zeta rays that were given off from the blasters indicated that it was a teleportation ray.

Wally knew that Artemis and M'gann would be blaming themselves. Artemis would think it's her fault for dying and shocking M'gann, and the alien girl would think it's her fault for being shocked. But no one blamed her. It wasn't her fault that she had great mental powers. Wally figured that Artemis would be beating herself up and blaming their failure on  
>herself.<p>

The teenage speedster approached the souvenir room and stopped. He peered inside and looked over the items he had collected. His eyes stopped when he reached Dr. Fate's helmet. Spitfire, he had said. Wally was ignorant, but he wasn't stupid.

Wally went back out into the hallway and began walking again.

Pain. That and pure terror was what they had all felt on that simulation. M'gann was scarred. She, out of the whole team, was the most affected. She would blame herself for their failure. Wally closed his eyes for a moment. He could still hear the sound of M'gann's terrified scream of Artemis' name ringing in the air. It chilled him to the bone and made him shake.

The simulation would forever remind every member of the team that failure was always possible for them. They could lose one another in an instant and there would be no way to just hit reset and try to do it over again. Wally would never be able to forget that.

Artemis was angry at herself. Wally could tell. After the team departed when the simulation was over, she went straight to the gym. That was where Wally was headed. He wanted to check up on her and make sure she was okay. He wasn't exactly sure what he would say or how he would say it. He had never really talked to someone about their apparent death and a simulated alien invasion before. He had hardly talked to Artemis alone before. But Wally knew that he should try and talk to her. Most of all, he wanted to know if she saw what happened even after she had 'died'.

Robin had immediately left with Batman. He asked the Dark Knight if he would help him train. Aqualad had disappeared. Superboy and M'gann had taken Wolf and drifted off somewhere to be together. Artemis stood and stormed out of the room, without a word.

Wally was the last to leave. He glanced at Captain Marvel before walking off after Artemis. The whole Cave seemed to be filled with depression. Wally walked with heavy feet and a bowed head. He never thought that a simple simulation could be, as Martian Manhunter said, so damaging. The team felt broken.

But, that was the thing. The simulation wasn't simple at all. It was more serious than anything they had ever experienced. It was also the most terrifying. Not only had their lives been taken from them, but the lives of those they cared about. Wally thought that he had lost Artemis. It had never really occurred to him just _how much_ he cared about her.

Wally began nearing the gym. He forced himself to not turn around and kept walking. He was determined to talk to Artemis, no matter how scared he might be. After that simulation, it would take a lot to scare him.

There were certain things Wally was sure he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Artemis that it wasn't her fault, even if he knew it would be a waste of time. She wouldn't listen to his reason. He knew that she was too stubborn. Wally smiled to himself.

Artemis was stubborn, sassy, witty, opinionated, and had a fiery temper. Wally knew these things and, in time, grew to be amused by these traits. He liked the things that made Artemis the girl she was. Wally accepted who she was, and he hoped she accepted him. He was sure that after spending so much time with the idiot that he was, that Artemis was used to him by then.

Wally approached the closed doors to the gym. He turned, faced the doors, and sighed. From inside, he could hear grunts and the sound of fists colliding with padding. Wally rubbed the cast that was still on his right arm. He knew some things that he wanted to say, but others he would just have to think about on the spot.

Artemis had died. Wally would never be able to shake that thought. What if it had been real? Then what would've happened, to the team, to Green Arrow, to…him? Artemis would be blaming herself. He knew he had no chance to convince her of otherwise. But hey, the fastest boy alive just might get lucky this one time.

Wally opened the doors to the gym and stepped inside…

_**AN: So, what did you think? I wasn't sure how well I would be able to capture Artemis' character, so I based this on Wally's thoughts. I had to wonder what was running through his head after the events of 'Failsafe'.  
>Reviews are greatly appreciated. I was also wondering if I should try and do more WallyArtemis fan fiction. So, let me know.**_


End file.
